A Race to Run

Have you ever done something you have loved doing and accomplished it? Have you ever found a different meaning or a parallel meaning for the loved talent? Well, I have found a parallel meaning for running. I get up every Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings at 5 to run with a group of friends. I meet them at the YMCA at 5:30 and I run with them for about 3 or more miles each day depending on the day. I have fun and always towards the end, I race them to the finish line. I started running the end of July 2008 and I was very good at the start and kept getting better. On Valentine’s Day of 2009, I ran my first Half-Marathon with my youth leader. He helped me train continually for this race and I did very well. With running, I found something I loved but also another thing that I could relate running too. Running is FUN and it has taught me many things in my spiritual journey with Jesus Christ. Whenever I first ran, all I thought was to show up and run. Instead, I had to focus on a breathing technique, foot strike like heel then toe, arm movement at 90 degrees, and going through the pain. I did the same thing when I first became a Christian. I accepted Christ and started my journey. Like running as a Christian, I have to not only accept, repent, but also act as Christ would act in certain situation. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 9:25 “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training…” This goes along with running a race because to be able to run a race a runner must train himself or herself long before the race. Before I ran the Half-Marathon, I trained myself increasing my mileage every Sunday morning until I was able to run 12.6 miles on uneven terrain. After that, I knew I was ready for the Half-Marathon because it was all flat ground and 13.2 miles long. In Hebrews 12:1, it says “…And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” God set a race marked out for us and the race started whenever I accepted Jesus in my heart and will end whenever I die. However, the question is not when will I die or how much longer to run the question is have I run the race well enough for Christ and hard enough with perseverance and endurance. It does not matter when you die or how much longer all that matters is to finish and hear “Well done my good and faithful servant” stated in Matthew 25:21 and 23. At the end of a race all that matters is the finish thus I must run with endurance and perseverance until I reach the end and hope to hear “Well done my good and faithful servant.” I Believe in a Race to Run.

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This week’s essay

Following her grandmother’s death, Priya Chandrasekaran wondered what to do with the colorful silk saris she inherited. In deciding to make a quilt from them, Chandrasekaran believes she found a way to both honor her grandmother and create something new. Click here to read her essay.